CINCINNATI: Andy Roddick is feeling the effects of a gruelling hard-court season but says he will be ready for the start of the US Open later this month.

The US tennis player claimed his third title in four tournaments and back-to-back Masters Series crowns with a 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory over compatriot Mardy Fish in the Cincinnati final on Sunday.

It was his 20th win in 21 matches, took him to No 1 in the Champions Race and confirmed his status as a leading contender for the year's final grand slam.

"I'm a little tired right now," he told reporters. "Injury-wise, I'm fine - just fatigued.

"I've played a lot of tennis in the last month, so it's going to be a good couple of days off now. I probably won't even touch a racket for the next two days.

"Everything that has happened this summer is out the door when you start a grand slam."

Central to his preparations will be coach Brad Gilbert, under whose tuition Roddick has a 30-2 win-loss record.

"When we first worked together (in London in June), he said: 'Okay, we're here to win two tournaments,'" Roddick explained.

"So I won Queen's Club and he said: 'You're 50 per cent there.'"

Full-time coach

Roddick added: "For someone to come in and tell me what he expected from me was quite shocking. I knew I wanted him to be my full-time coach straight away."

The other tournament in that equation was Wimbledon, where Roddick lost to Swiss player Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

His victory on Sunday drew him level with Federer, however, for the number of titles won this season - five.

The consolation on the day that 21-year-old Fish failed to scoop his first ever title was the knowledge he was due to rise from 41 to around 25 in Monday's world rankings.

That means he will be seeded for the US Open.

Henin wins No 6

In Toronto, world No 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne romped to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over unseeded Russian teenager Lina Krasnoroutskaya in the final of the US$1.3 million Canadian Open on Sunday.

It was the Belgian's sixth title of the year, putting her level with compatriot and world No 1 Kim Clijsters.

Clijsters was beaten by Krasnoroutskaya on Thursday when the tournament was delayed by the largest blackout to hit the northeastern United States and Canada.

The Belgians are friendly rivals, with Henin-Hardenne hot in pursuit of Clijsters' No 1 ranking.

"For sure, being No 1 is the goal right now," Henin-Hardenne said.

"I was a little bit surprised at how well it went today," said the champion. "I didn't know what to expect. She was playing great tennis this week but I knew she would be a little bit tired and nervous in her first final."

Krasnoroutskaya, in her first Women's Tennis Association final, said that she did not match up to Henin-Hardenne.

"It was really hard for me to play against Justine," she said. "She has a style of tennis that I don't like to play against - lots of top spin - and she keeps you back all the time.

"I'm a little bit disappointed because the week could have ended a little bit better. But I can't change anything that happened and I will live with it," the Russian added.

Henin-Hardenne now heads for the US Open, where she is among the favourites. Her previous wins this year were at the Dubai Open, Family Circle Cup, German Open, French Open - her first grand slam - and the Acura Classic.

Agencies via Xinhua

(China Daily 08/19/2003 page8)